Mail-bag-handling apparatus.



L M BERNFELD MAIL BAG HANDLING'APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 30,1908.

Patented Dec. 8, 1908,

WITNESSES I LUPESOU M. BERNFELD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MAIL-BAG-HANDLING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 8, 1908.

Application filed. March 30, 1908. Serial No. 424,040.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUPEsoU M. BERN- FELD, a subject of the King of Roumania, and residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail Bag- Handling Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. i c

This invention relates to means or apparatus for delivering mail bags to and from rapidly moving railway cars or trains, and the object thereof is to provide an improved apparatus of this class by means of which mail bags may be delivered conveniently and safely from arapidly moving train or car, and also delivered to such train or car safely and easily without injury to the bag or the operators. H 7

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which;-

Figure 1 is a sectional plan view of my improvedapparatus part of which is secured to one side of a car, and part supported adjacent to the car tracks preferably at a station,

no part of the station being shown and part of one side of a car, being shown, in section; Fig. 2 a side view of a part of that part of the ap aratus which is secured to the car and loo ing in the direction of the arrow a of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 a view of that part of the apparatus which is mounted adjacent to the track and looking in the direction of the arrow 00 of Fig. 1, part of the construction being shown in section, and ;Fig. 4 a side view of a hook which is used both in the delivery of mail bags from and to the caror train.

In the drawing forming part of this specification, I have shown or indicated at a a horizontal section of one side of a car provided with a door a and at b a post which is secured adjacent to the track at or on a platform or at any desired point, it being understood that this post is located at a station or other place where it is necessary to deliver bags from and to a train or car.

The post I) is provided with two arms 6 and Z2 which are curved inwardly toward the track and outwardly in opposite directions along the track, and these arms are provided respectively in the ends thereof with sockets or recesses b and b Hinged to one side of the car and adjacent to the door a as shown at a is an arm 0 which is adapted to swing in a horizontal plane, and this arm is preferably provided at its end with a hook member or other catch device 0 and secured thereto at a predetermined distance from the end thereof is a chain or other flexible device d, the connection of which with-the arm 0 is preferably made by means of a collar d and-hinged to the side of the door a opposite the connection of the arm 0 is a swinging device or housing 6 in the free end of which is a longitudinal chamber or recess e closed by a cap a, and the chain or other flexible-device d is provided with a rod d movable through the cap a and provided at its inner end with a head at between which and the cap 6 is placed a spiral spring 6*. I also provide a hook device f comprising a straight shank member f provided at one end with a main hook member f and to the shank part or member of which is loosely connected a supplemental hook f and the main hook member is provided with a snap spring f 5 which is secured to the shank member f and said main hook member f 3 is provided at the end of the hook portion thereof with an outwardly or laterally directed finger f.,

The arm a is provided inwardly of the connection of the chain (1 therewith with a transverse slot or opening g which is arranged horizontally in said arm and which is at an acute angle to the outer end portion thereof, and at the right hand side of Fig. 1, I have indicated the position of the parts necessary for the delivery of a mail bag from a train or car supposed to .be moving in the direction of the arrow y.

In the accompanying drawing I have also shown or indicated at h a mail bag, and whenever it is desired to deliver a bag from a train or car, the said bag is suspended from the supplemental hook f of the hook device f and the shank portion of the hook device f is passed through the slot or opening 9 in the arm 0 as indicated in Fig. 1, and in such position that the main hook member f of the hook device f is in a vertical plane. The arm a is then swung out into the position shown in Fig. 1, and as the train or car moves along the track in the direction of the arrow 'y the arm 12 of the post I) will pass through the main hook member f of the hook device f, and said hook device will be detached from the arm 0 and said hook device with the bag suspended therefrom will slide along the arm b in the direction of the post I) and the curve of the arm 5 will operate by friction to check the movement or momentum of said bag.

If it is desired to deliver a bag to the train the hook device f is suspended from the arm b by inserting the finger f into the socket or opening 5 in the end thereof as shown in Fig. 3, the bag I) being suspended from the supplemental hookf and as the car or train moves along the track the arm 0, the position of which, in this operation, is clearly shown in Fig. 3 will strike the main hook device at t, and said main hook device with the bag suspended therefrom will be caught on said arm and suspended therefrom and held thereon by the hook or other catch device 0 and the said arm may be swung inwardly through the door a of the car and the bag detached therefrom. This operation of swinging the arm 0 inwardly into the car will be automatic, and will be occasioned by the recoil of said arm when the latter detaches the hook device f from the arm 17 and the corresponding action of the spring e on the chain or other device (1. In the construction of the hook device f as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the snap spring f is not shown, and it will be understood that this spring may or may not be employed as may be desired.

ith my improvement it will be seen that a mail bag may be delivered from and to a train at the same time, or, in the act of a train or car passing a given point or station, or a mail bag may be delivered. from a train or car only, or such a bag may be delivered to a train or car only.

The spring 6 in the swinging housing or casing 6 serves, as will be understood, to stop the backward movement of the arm 0 when the bag is delivered thereto from the end of the arm b and in the recoil of said spring the arm 0 is swung into the car, and this spring and the chain d therefore has two important functions in the operation of my apparatus.

It will be understood, that the separate parts of my improvement may be made as strong as desired, and changes in, and modifieations of the construction described may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an apparatus for handling mail bags, an arm pivoted or hinged in a horizontal position to the side of a car adjacent to a door, a flexible device connected with the outer end portion of said arm at one end, and the other end of which is connected with a device hinged to the opposite side of the door by means of a recoil spring attachment, a hook device adapted to be detachably connected with said arm and to support a bag, and means supported adjacent to the track for detachin said hook device with a bag suspended therefrom from said arm.

2. In an apparatus for delivering mail bags from a train or car, an arm hinged to one side of the car adjacent to a door, said arm being also connected with the opposite side of the door by a flexible device having a recoil spring attachment, a hook device adapted to be detachably connected with said arm and to support a mail bag, and a support mounted adjacent to the track and provided with a curved arm adapted to detach said hook device with the bag suspended therefrom from said first named arm as the train or car passes.

3. In an apparatus for delivering mail bags from and to a moving train or car, a support mounted adjacent to the track and provided with curved arms which extend in opposite directions and are curved inwardly toward the track, an arm hinged to one side of a car adjacent to a door and adapted to swing in a horizontal plane, the outer end portion of said arm being connected with the opposite side of the door by a flexible device having a recoil s ring attachment, and a hook device adapted to be detachably connected with the arm which is hinged to the car and to be detached therefrom by one of the arms of the support, and said hook device being also adapted to be detachably connected with the other arm of the support and to be detached therefrom by the arm hinged to the car.

4. In an apparatus for handling mail bags, a support mounted adjacent to a railway track, and provided with an arm, a hook device adapted to be detachably connected with said arm and to support a mail bag, an arm hinged to one side of a car adjacent to a door thereof and adapted to swing in a horizontal plane, said arm being also connected with the opposite side of the door by a flexible device having a recoil spring attachment, and said arm being also adapted to detach the hook device from the arm of the support as the train or car passes.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, a hook device comprising a main shank member provided at one end thereof with a main hook member, the hook portion of which is provided with a laterally directed finger, and a supplemental hook loosely connected with the shank member.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, a hook device comprising a main shank member provided at one end with a main hook member having at its end a laterally directed projection, and a supplemental hook loosely connected with the shank member at a predetermined distance from the other end thereof.

7. In an apparatus for handling mail bags, an arm pivoted or hinged in a horizontal position to the side of a car adjacent to a door, a flexible device connected with the outer end portion of said arm and with the opposite side of the door, a hook device adapted to be detachably connected with said arm and to support a bag, and a support mounted adj acent to the track, and provided with means for detaching said device with a bag suspended therefrom from said arm as the car passes said support.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of the subscribing witnesses this 27th day of March, 1908.

LUPESCU' M. BERNFELD.

Vitnesses:

M. E. DoonY, O. E. MULREANY. 

